By HUGH CONRAD FOR THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT
When teams are 1-0, most coaches are happy but they are often uncertain of exactly what that win means.
That is the case with veteran coaches Bob Arcurio and Ernie Fetzer entering Week 2 of the high school football season. Arcurio’s Greater Johnstown Trojans charged back for a 34-28 victory over Central last week, while Fetzer’s Penn Cambria Panthers beat Somerset 14-0.
The Trojans will travel to Cresson on Friday night to face the Panthers in what appears to be an interesting Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference battle.
“This team has a lot of potential,” Arcurio said of his Trojans. “But, we’re so young. We lost seven guys on defense and eight on offense. We made a lot of mental mistakes last week against Central, and they hurt us.”
Penn Cambria won just one game last season, and it was ultimately forfeited for an off-the-field infraction. So while the Panthers also made mistakes against Somerset, winning their first game bolstered the Panthers’ confidence level.
“Any time that you are trying to build on something, a positive outcome is important, so this was a great win for us,” Fetzer said. “It got our kids excited and our coaches excited. We did a lot of good things, but we are never short of things to work on.”
Arcurio sees the battle against Penn Cambria as a coaching challenge in a game that pits a team with size and strength against one with speed.
“They are a power football team. They have big, strong kids, from what we have seen on film,” Arcurio said. “We may be quicker, but they are stronger. And they have a head coach who has over 25 years of experience. Ernie Fetzer’s teams come at you with all kinds of formations and motion. You just have to be prepared for them.”
Penn Cambria and Johnstown both put up some impressive stats, although each made mistakes that hurt its offensive effort. Penn Cambria compiled 318 yards of total offense – 247 rushing and 71 passing – while Johnstown had 427 yards – 171 rushing and 256 passing.
The Trojans are led by quarterback Brandon Hody who completed 12 of 15 passes (80 percent) for 226 yards and three touchdowns. His favorite target was Xavier Thomas, who hauled in eight catches for 151 yards and three touchdowns.
Sophomore Antwuan Reed led the Johnstown rushing attack with 14 carries for 105 yards and one touchdown.
In his first year of directing the Panthers, Fetzer is pleased with the speed with which his players have picked up his intricate offense. But he is concerned because of some mistakes that they made in the opener.
“From an offensive standpoint, we had quite a few yards of total offense, but we made a few mistakes,” Fetzer said. “We fumbled the ball and gave it up on Somerset’s 4, and we had a few penalties in the second half that killed some of our drives. We need to continue to work at being disciplined. We did some good things from the standpoint of execution on both sides of the football, so we can build from there and get better.”
Penn Cambria alternates personnel with each offensive possession. Senior Luke Tomaselli and junior George Klayko will change at quarterback with each possession, Fetzer said. Tomaselli scored both of Penn Cambria’s touchdowns last week.
Junior fullback Matt Holsberger will not alternate. He led the Panthers in rushing with 107 yards on 14 carries.
Arcurio is also looking for improvement in Week 2.
“We had some turnovers in the second half and let (Central) get back into the game,” Arcurio said. “I think that we are evenly matched with (Penn Cambria). It is going to be an interesting game. But we had 10 penalties last week to Central’s one. (Penn Cambria) runs Ernie’s offense to a ‘T’ and has mastered it in a short period of time. They have done an excellent job with it.”
Fetzer has concerns about Johnstown.
“The thing that you have to be concerned with is their big-play capability,” Fetzer said. “They have great speed everywhere, and they are huge up front. You always have to be conscious that they can break it at any time. We need to contain them. We have to build a fence around the football and not let them get outside.”
The Trojans were forced to charge back last week as a result of their turnovers, and Arcurio was happy with the character that his team demonstrated late in the game.
“The biggest thing is that we were down and then came back,” Arcurio said. “That is the characteristic of a good football team. We held (Central) on the 2-yard line, and then put together a 98-yard drive to win the game. I was concerned because we are so young, but we put it together on the last drive.”
